MADRID - More than 300 African migrants were intercepted in Spanish waters Monday, adding to the hundreds apprehended in the region during the past week.

The migrants from sub-Saharan Africa were said to have been trying to reach Spain's Canary Islands, El Pais newspaper reported online. Since Thursday, more than 800 migrants have been caught trying to make landfall or caught once they reached the islands.

Spanish authorities have caught tens of thousands of African migrants trying to reach Spanish shores over the last few years.